Roof accessible wear panel for aggregate delivery unit

ABSTRACT

A housing for inspecting and replacing a wear plate maintained within the interior of the delivery unit compartment without entering the confined space compartment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to improved access to theinterior of a proppant delivery unit compartment and, in particular, toa housing for inspecting and replacing a wear plate maintained withinthe interior of the delivery unit compartment.

2. Description of Related Art

Hydraulic fracturing remains a key method of reservoir stimulation,providing a significant increase in oil and gas production. Fracturingis typically done by pumping a formation full of a fluid, which containswater and a solid particulate referred to as a proppant, often sand, andpressurizing that fluid in order to apply large surface forces to partsof the formation. These large surface forces cause stresses, and byvirtue of the massive areas involved, can produce extremely high forcesand stresses in the rock formations. Accordingly, the rock formationstend to shatter, increasing porosity an providing space for theproduction oil to pass through the formation toward the bore hole forextraction.

The proppant may be supplied from a proppant delivery unit located atthe oilfield near the well. This unit is generally very large due to theamount of proppant that may be required for any given fracturingoperation and, when loaded may be extremely heavy in weight. Thus, as amatter of practicality, the unit is provided to the wellsite location ina mobile but usually empty manner and then subsequently filled with aproppant of choice for the fracturing operation. In this manner, all ofthe proppant for the operation may be provided from a single controlledsupply.

The proppant delivery unit includes separate compartments for housingpotentially varying types of proppant or other additives for theoperation. The compartments each include a fill port and lift pipe forfilling the container with proppant, a hopper and valve assembly at thebottom thereof which may be individually controlled for emptying onto aconveyor belt leading to a mixer directed at the well.

The upper portion of the prior art compartments are essentiallyinaccessible. Secured to the underside of the top of the compartment isa wear plate. When proppant is pumped into the compartment through thefill port and lift pipe, the proppant strikes the wear plate and thenfalls to the lower interior portion of the compartment. In the priorart, the wear plate is constructed of metal. After successive strikes bythe proppant, the wear plate begins to weaken thereby requiring a newwear plate to be installed. To remove and replace the wear plate, anindividual must enter the confined space of the compartment.

When entering the confined space of the compartment, the individual maybe exposed to dust with high levels of respirable crystalline silica. OnJun. 21, 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety andHealth Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safetyand Health issued a hazard alert on ensuring that employers in hydraulicfracturing operations take appropriate steps to protect workers fromsilica exposure.

Thus, there exists a need for a means for inspecting and replacing thewear plate within a proppant delivery unit without having to enter thecompartment and being subjected to the harmful effects of the proppant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the foregoing limitations, the present invention wasconceived. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there isdisclosed a wear panel housing placed within an opening of the exteriorroof wall of the proppant delivery unit. Maintained within the wearpanel housing is a wear panel.

Through use of the wear panel housing, the wear panel can be inspectedand replaced without entering the proppant compartment, thereby avoidingthe negative health effects associated with confined space entry intothe compartment.

Therefore, a general object of the present invention is to provide ameans for inspecting the wear panel and compartment interior without thenecessity of confined space entry.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a wear panelwith greater longevity so as to limit downtime of the proppant deliveryunit.

It is the further object of the present invention to provide a means foreasily and quickly accessing the interior of a proppant compartment.

Certain embodiments of this invention are not limited to any particularindividual feature disclosed here, but include combinations of themdistinguished from the prior art in their structures, functions, and/orresults achieved. Features of the invention have been broadly describedso that the detailed descriptions that follow may be better understood,and in order that the contributions of this invention to the arts may bebetter appreciated. There are, of course, additional aspects of theinvention described below and which may be included in the subjectmatter of the claims to this invention. Those skilled in the art whohave the benefit of this invention, its teachings, and suggestions willappreciate that the conceptions of this disclosure may be used as acreative basis for designing other structures, methods and systems forcarrying out and practicing the present invention. The claims of thisinvention are to be read to include any legally equivalent devices ormethods which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

The present invention recognizes and addresses the problems and needs inthis area and provides a solution to those problems and a satisfactorymeeting of those needs in its various possible embodiments andequivalents thereof. To one of skill in this art who has the benefits ofthis invention's realizations, teachings, disclosures, and suggestions,other purposes and advantages will be appreciated from the followingdescription of certain preferred embodiments, given for the purpose ofdisclosure, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.The detail in these descriptions is not intended to thwart this patent'sobject to claim this invention no matter how others may later attempt todisguise it by variations in form, changes, or additions of furtherimprovements.

The Abstract that is part hereof is to enable the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office and the public generally, and scientists, engineers,researchers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar withpatent terms or legal terms of phraseology to determine quickly from acursory inspection or review the nature and general area of thedisclosure of this invention. The Abstract is neither intended to definethe invention, which is done by the claims, nor is it intended to belimiting of the scope of the invention in any way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the proppant delivery unit inaccordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the prior art exterior roof wall ofa proppant delivery unit.

FIG. 3 is a side cross sectional view of the prior art proppantcompartment of the proppant delivery unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the wear panel housing, door, latchelement, and hinge mechanism in accordance with the preferredembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the door and latch element inaccordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the exterior roof wall containing awear panel housing with the lift pipe guide attached to the lift pipe inaccordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the exterior roof wall of a proppantdelivery unit with doors to wear panel housings in accordance with thepreferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the wear panel housing's support plate andmounting lip in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of the pressure plate in accordancewith the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side perspective view of the wear panel in accordance withthe preferred embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention and the various features and advantageous detailsthereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limitingembodiments described in the following description.

Referring to the figures, wherein like numerals indicate like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, FIGS. 1 and 2generally show a proppant delivery unit (50). Maintained on the chassisof the proppant delivery unit are a plurality of proppant compartments(52). Each compartment (52) has a roof wall (54), bottom wall (56) andside walls (58).

As the proppant delivery unit (50) is commonly delivered to the wellsite empty, each compartment (52) is equipped with a fill port (60) forfilling the compartments (52) with proppant (62). The fill port (60) islocated at a lower portion of each compartment (52). The proppant (62)is pneumatically fed into the compartments (52) by conventional means,through the fill port (60).

Referring to FIG. 3, once the proppant (62) is fed into the compartment(52), the proppant (62) is dispensed through a lift pipe (64) toward theroof wall (54) of the compartment (52).

To avoid the proppant (62) impacting directly upon the roof wall (54)and to eliminate the need for an individual to enter the compartment(52) and change a wear panel attached to the interior of the roof wall(54), a wear panel housing (72) is installed on the roof wall (54) ofthe compartment (52).

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the housing (72) is positioned to intrudethrough an opening on the exterior roof wall (54) of a compartment (52).Referring to FIG. 6, the housing (72) consists of side walls (74), suchthat each of the side walls (74) has a top edge (76), two side edges(78), and an inward-facing surface (80). The side walls (74) define aninterior volume within the roof wall (54).

The mounting lip (82) is located on the top of the housing (72). The topedges (76) of the side walls (74) of the housing (72) are attached tothe underside of the mounting lip (82). The underside of the mountinglip (82) is planar for mounting upon the exterior roof wall (54). In thepreferred embodiment, hinge mechanisms (84) are located on the upperside of the mounting lip (82) for attaching an openable and closabledoor (86). On the upper side of the mounting lip (82) but on the sideopposite the location the hinge mechanisms (84) is a latch element (88).

The mounting lip (82) is for mounting the apparatus upon the exteriorroof wall (54). In the preferred embodiment, the mounting lip (82) isweldedly attached to the exterior roof wall (54). In alternativeembodiments, the attachment means may include bolts or glue.

A support plate (90), which is flat and with a shape configured to belocated in the plane of the receiving ridge (92) of the housing (72), isattached at its edges to the receiving ridge (92) on the interior walls(74) of the housing (72). The plane of the support plate (90) is,preferably, parallel to the plane of the exterior roof wall (54). Thesupport plate (90) has a rectangular opening (94) to the interior of thecompartment (52) for accommodating a wear panel (96).

Referring to FIG. 7, an openable and securably closable door (86) ismounted on the exterior of the housing (72) to one side of the mountinglip (82). The openable and closable door (86) prevents proppant fromescaping the compartment (52) and assists in maintaining the wear panel(96) in its desired location. The door covers a space bounded on the topby the mounting lip (82) that overlies the top edges of the side walls(74), on the sides by the side walls (74) between the receiving ridgeand the mounting lip (82), and on the base by the outwardly-facingplanar surface of the support plate (90).

The openable and closable door (86) has, optionally, a sealableperiphery and the mounting lip (82) has an exterior channel (not shown)for receiving the sealable periphery of the closable door (86).Additionally, the openable and closable door (86) is attached to theexterior of the mounting lip (82) by hinge mechanisms (84). The firstside of the hinge mechanism (84) is attached to the mounting lip (82),while the second side of the hinge mechanism (84) is affixed to the sideof the openable and closable door (86) opposite the latch mechanism. Inthe preferred embodiment, the door is held securably closed by alatching mechanism (88).

Removably maintained within the housing (72) is a wear panel (96). Thewear panel (96) is flat and with a shape configured to be located in theplane of the receiving ridge (92) of the housing (72). The plane of thewear panel (96) is, preferably, parallel to the plane of the exteriorroof wall (54). The wear panel (96), in the preferred embodiment, isconstructed of high strength rubber. In alternative embodiments, thewear panel (96) may be constructed of steel or other material capable ofwithstanding continuous proppant impact.

Referring to FIG. 9, the wear panel (96) is maintained in its desiredlocation by means of a pressure plate (98). The pressure plate (98) isflat and with a shape configured to be located in the plane of thereceiving ridge (92) of the housing (72). A handle (100) is fixedlyattached to the top side (102) of the pressure plate (98). The handle(100) assists in the removal of the pressure plate (98) from the housing(98) and, when the door (86) is in the closed position, makes contactwith the interior of the door (86), thereby causing the pressure plate(98) to press downward on the wear panel (96).

In use, referring to FIG. 7, an individual would access the exterior ofthe roof wall (54) and proceed to the door (86) of a wear panel housing(72). The latch element (88) is moved to the unlatched position and thedoor (86) moved to the open position. After opening the door (86), thepressure plate (98) and wear panel (96) are removed. The wear panel (96)is then inspected to determine if it is in need of replacement.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the wear panel (96) is removed, the liftpipe (64) can be inspected and, if necessary, realigned to insure theproppant comes into contact with the wear panel (96) and not theinterior roof wall (54) of the compartment (52). Upon completing thereplacement of the wear panel (96), the wear panel (96) and pressureplate (98) are placed upon the support plate (90) of the wear panelhousing (72). The door (86) is placed in the closed position and thelatch element (88) is moved to the latched position.

This description of the various embodiments of the present invention arepresented to illustrate the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, and other inventive concepts may be otherwise variouslyembodied and employed. The description is intended to be construed toinclude such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.

Index of Elements 50 Proppant Delivery Unit 52 Proppant Compartment 54Roof Wall 56 Bottom Wall 58 Side Walls 60 Fill Port 62 Proppant 64 LiftPipe 66 68 70 72 Wear Panel Housing 74 Side Walls 76 Top Edge 78 SideEdges 80 Inward Facing Surface 82 Mounting Lip 84 Hinge Mechanism 86Door 88 Latch Element 90 Support Plate 92 Receiving Edge 94 RectangularOpening 96 Wear Panel 98 Pressure Plate 100 Handle 102 Top Side

What is claimed is:
 1. A wear panel housing for a proppant delivery unitcompartment, comprising: a housing adapted to be positioned through theexterior roof wall of a proppant delivery unit compartment, and havingside walls, each of the side walls having a top edge, two side edges,and an inward-facing surface with a receiving ridge parallel to the topedge of the respective each of the side walls, and such that the sideedges of each of the side walls are spaced apart and are fixably joinedin series such that the inward-facing surfaces of each of the side wallsface inward and define a first space and the top edge of each of theside walls is joined and forms a first plane and the receiving ridge oneach of the side walls forms a second plane, and having a mounting lipwith an exterior surface and a planar underside, for positioning uponthe exterior roof wall of the proppant delivery unit compartment, suchthat the top edge of each side wall, and the first plane formed therebyis fixably joined to the planar underside of the mounting lip, and asupport plate, shaped to fit within the second plane formed by thereceiving ridge on each of the side walls, with a rectangular opening tothe interior of the proppant delivery unit compartment for accommodatinga wear panel, and a peripheral edge, so that the peripheral edge of thesupport plate is affixed to the receiving ridge of the inward-facingsurface of each of the side walls of the housing, and a wear panel,shaped to fit within the plane of the receiving ridge of the housing,with the plane of the wear panel parallel to the plane of the exteriorroof wall, and a pressure plate, shaped to fit within the plane of thereceiving ridge of the housing and be removably placed on the wearpanel, having a handle on the top side of said pressure plate.
 2. A wearpanel housing for a proppant delivery unit compartment as recited inclaim 1, wherein the housing is adapted to be positioned upon anexterior surface of the exterior roof wall of a proppant delivery unitcompartment.
 3. A wear panel housing for a proppant delivery unitcompartment as recited in claim 1, further comprising an openable andclosable door mounted to the exterior of the housing.
 4. A wear panelhousing for a proppant delivery unit compartment as recited in claim 3,further comprising a latch mechanism for selectively latching theopenable and closable door.
 5. A wear panel housing for a proppantdelivery unit compartment as recited in claim 3, wherein the openableand closeable door covers the outwardly-facing planar surface of thesupport plate.
 6. A wear panel housing for a proppant delivery unitcompartment as recited in claim 3, wherein the openable and closabledoor has a sealable periphery, and the mounting lip further comprises anexterior channel for receiving at least a portion of the sealableperiphery of the openable and closeable door.
 7. A wear panel housingfor a proppant delivery unit compartment as recited in claim 7, furthercomprising a hinge mechanism hingedly connecting the openable andclosable door to the exterior of the mounting lip.
 8. A wear panelhousing for a proppant delivery unit compartment as recited in claim 1,further comprising means for permitting the attachment of the housing tothe exterior roof wall of the proppant delivery unit compartment.
 9. Awear panel housing for a proppant delivery unit compartment as recitedin claim 1, wherein the wear panel is constructed of high strengthrubber.
 10. A wear panel housing for a proppant delivery unitcompartment, comprising: a housing, adapted to be positioned through theexterior roof wall of a proppant delivery unit compartment, and havingside walls, each of the side walls having a top edge, two side edges,and an inward-facing surface with a receiving ridge parallel to the topedge of the respective each of the side walls, and such that the sideedges of each of the side walls are spaced apart and are fixably joinedin series such that the inward-facing surfaces of each of the side wallsface inward and define a first space, and the top edge of each of theside walls is joined and forms a first plane, and the receiving ridge oneach of the side walls forms a second plane, and having a mounting lipfor positioning upon the exterior roof wall of the proppant deliveryunit compartment, such that the top edge of each side wall, and thefirst plane formed thereby is fixably joined to the planar underside ofthe mounting lip, and a support plate, shaped to fit within the secondplane formed by the receiving ridge on each of the side walls, with arectangular opening to the interior of the proppant delivery unitcompartment for accommodating a wear panel, and a peripheral edge, sothat the peripheral edge of the support plate is affixed to thereceiving ridge of the inward-facing surface of each of the side wallsof the housing, and an openable and closable door, with a latchingmeans, mounted to the exterior of the housing to cover theoutwardly-facing planar surface of the support plate, and attached tothe exterior of the mounting lip by a hinge mechanism, and a wear panel,shaped to fit within the plane of the receiving ridge of the housing,with the plane of the wear panel parallel to the plane of the exteriorroof wall, constructed of high strength rubber, and a pressure plate,shaped to fit within the plane of the receiving ridge of the housing andbe removably placed on the wear panel, having a handle on the top sideof said pressure plate.